Workshops (Plymouth Options)

Workshops (Plymouth Options)

The anxiety & depression service (Plymouth Options) offers a range of free 1 hour workshops to help improve your mental health and wellbeing. Please use the links for the relevant workshop to book your place.

Assertiveness

Assertiveness doesn’t come naturally to everyone – sometimes in life it can be difficult to say how we are feeling and what we are thinking. We often take on too much as we find it difficult to say no and to express how we feel. However, we can learn to be more confident and assertive.

This 1 hour workshop will help participants understand different types of communication including body language and saying no, and will introduce a technique called ‘the assertiveness script’ to help us say how we are feeling. The aim of the workshop is to provide attendees with some basic skills to gain a greater sense of control and feel comfortable expressing your needs in appropriate ways.

Managing anxiety

Everyone has feelings of anxiety at some point in their life. You may feel worried and anxious about sitting an exam or attending a job interview – during times like these, feeling anxious can be perfectly normal. However, some people find it hard to control their worries. Their feelings of anxiety are more constant and can often affect their daily life.

This one hour workshop provides information on the psychological and physical symptoms of anxiety and strategies to manage this including breathing, goal setting and cognitive behaviour therapy.

Managing low mood

Low mood affects lots of us from time to time. Difficult events and situations can leave us feeling down, and sometimes it’s possible to feel low without there being any obvious reason.

This one hour workshop provides information on the psychological symptoms of low mood as well as providing strategies to manage this. These include behavioural activation (a psychological model of behaviour change) and identifying and challenging negative thought by using cognitive behaviour therapy.

Managing stress

Stress is the feeling of being under too much emotional or physical pressure. It can be a useful part of everyday life but sometimes it can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed and exhausted, causing difficulties at work or at home. Stress can affect how you think, make decisions, and prioritise daily activities. You may recognise some physical symptoms such as sleeplessness, loss of appetite, sweating, poor concentration, losing your temper and drinking more alcohol.

This one hour workshop introduces the symptoms of stress and how the body responds, and provides simple strategies to manage this.

Mindfulness

Stress can be a normal and useful part of life but sometimes it can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed and exhausted. When we are stressed, anxious or feeling low our thoughts, troubles and worries can often add to our problems.

Mindfulness practice can help you develop the ability to deal with life’s pressures. Mindfulness meditation is a skill you can develop and a form of self-awareness training that helps you get to know yourself more fully, think more clearly and in the present moment. Being mindful gives you the opportunity to respond to difficult events and situations in new ways, rather than just following old patterns.

Panic

Panic attacks are frightening, and can affect what we do and where we go on a daily basis. Panic attacks can be because of previous experiences or can happen without warning.

This 1 hour workshop aims to break down some of the myths surrounding panic and help you to manage your panic attacks. We will look at understanding panic in relation to its effect on our thoughts, body and behaviour and you will be taught techniques to manage the physical symptoms including how to challenge your thoughts and make changes in your behaviour, which can help you feel more in control.

Sleep Well, Feel Well

It refreshes us like nothing else. It can occasionally be elusive, almost always comforting, and is definitely essential to our survival. And although we spend one third of our lives asleep, we barely give it a moment’s notice…until we can’t sleep.

Having a poor night’s sleep can really affect your ability to concentrate and make decisions. For millions of people, the consequences of a poor night’s sleep—higher stress, increased mistakes, difficulty concentrating – are every day occurrences. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

This one hour workshop will introduce ways to support restful sleep. Topics covered include understanding the adult sleep cycle, what may prevent a good night’s sleep and tips for sleeping well.

About us

As an employee-led organisation, and the largest community health and social care enterprise in the UK, Livewell Southwest employs more than 3,000 members of staff who live and work in the local area. Being a not-for-profit organisation allows us to reinvest all our revenue back into the care we provide for our communities.

Our award-winning services are diverse and include: physiotherapy; psychotherapy and other community mental health services; community nursing; social work; children and young people’s services; wellbeing and health improvement services; pharmacies and services for people with learning disabilities. These are delivered either in the person’s home, or from our 12 locations across the southwest, which include minor injuries and recovery units, community or acute hospitals, clinics and dental access centres.